East Ridge police officer injured in crash during pursuit

East Ridge police officer injured in crash during pursuit

An East Ridge Police officer was injured in a car crash today while he chasing two theft suspects.

An East Ridge Police officer was injured in...

Photo by
WRCB-TV Channel 3
/Times Free Press.

An East Ridge Police officer was injured in a car crash today while he chasing two theft suspects.

The pursuit began after a man and a woman were spotted stealing a generator from a construction site on McBrien Road, said police spokesman Officer Erik Hopkins.

Sky Douglas Bishop, 30, and Megan Brook Avens, 28, have been charged with aggravated burglary, theft over $1,000, aggravated assault, felony evading, and felony reckless endangerment. Avens has additionally been charged with possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony.

At the construction site, the thieves tried to hit the victim with the Ford F-150 pickup truck they were driving, Hopkins said. The suspects then led officers on a high-speed chase that weaved through East Ridge and Chattanooga.

During the pursuit, Lt. Lynn Ford crashed his car into another vehicle at the intersection of McBrien Road at South Terrace, Hopkins said. The other driver was not injured, he said.

Ford was transported to Erlanger hospital for evaluation, but his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Hopkins said.

Officers tracked the truck down to the intersection of North Terrace and Germantown Road. Avens into custody while the man with her fled, said Hopkins.

After a foot chase, Bishop was caught in a drainage ditch near the intersection of Mayfair Avenue and Haney Drive, Hopkins said.